It has been estimated that nearly 45% of all deaths in the United States and developing countries are associate with fibroproliferative diseases and inflammation. A wide range of human diseases and disorders are associated with uncontrolled infiltration of inflammatory cells such as monocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, and mast cells, which populate tissue sites of bacterial and viral infections, as well as sites of tissue damage caused by environmental toxins, chemicals, irradiation and mechanical trauma. Distinct inflammatory cell types, along with other cells such as activated fibroblasts, are well known to play critical roles in many human pathologies. In large part due to the multifactorial nature of inflammation and fibrosis, progress has been slow in the development of less toxic and more efficacious treatments for this large group of highly debilitating and often lethal diseases. While drugs have been developed that target individual molecules such as inflammatory cytokines, growth factors, enzymes, and their cognate receptors, many of these anti-inflammatory compounds are only marginally effective due to the diversity of molecules that contribute to these processes. Moreover, some of these anti-inflammatory drugs have side effects limiting their use.
Thus, there remains a need to develop safer and more efficacious approaches for the treatment of inflammation and fibrosis.